Run Culture S24 Vol 17

Life has a way of throwing curveballs, and with everything that's been going on, I’m aiming to get back on track with a consistent posting schedule—both here and on Instagram, which has been lagging a bit. Now that my marathon block is over, I’m hoping to settle into more of a routine and start building what I had envisioned for Zato AC.

This week, we’re diving into a super trainer that could be my pick for the year, sneak peeks of the next season of Supershoes, who you think are the most underrated running apparel brands at the moment, Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s latest reality TV series, and a recap of my marathon and the training block that carried me through it.

Let’s jump into it!

The Shop Front

Adidas Adizero Evo SL

I thought nothing left this year would get me as excited as the Superblast 2 and Alphafly 3 Blueprint drop, but count me surprised. While this shoe might not be widely available until 2025, I know that the day it hits shelves, I’ll probably be grabbing two pairs straight up.

My go-to no-nonsense daily trainer has been the Adidas Adizero SL2, not just for its budget-friendly price ($180 AUD), but also for its springy feel without harshness underfoot. Plus, it looks good too. So when I stumbled across the Evo SL in the Coffee Club Discord and dug deeper in the Running Shoe Geeks reddit, I knew I had to investigate.

The Evo SL is basically what you’d get if the Pro Evo 1 and SL2 had a baby: 40mm stack height with a full slab of Lightstrike Pro, partial nylon plate for added stability, and weighs only 224g for a US Men’s 9. And the craziest part? The price! Coming in at just $150 USD, which is about $220 AUD. When compared to something like the Superblast 2 at $320 AUD, this could easily be the best value super trainer.

I’m hyped for this shoe, and I predict it’s going to be one of the hottest purchases of 2025—at least in the first half. If you’re interested, you’ll have to be quick when it drops!

Believe in the Run dropped their first thoughts here.

Dont forget to use the code SAI_24 for 10% off purchases at Pace Athletic which will have a lot of the shoes I feature in this newsletter.

Next Season of Supershoes

It feels like we just got our hands on the Alphafly 3 and Metaspeed series, and yet, here we are already buzzing about the next wave of supershoe launches. These are the latest pairs that have made their way to my radar:

Asics MZ Type 1

This looks like Asics’ version of the Adidas Pro Evo 1, and it might just signal that paper-thin uppers are the future of supershoes.

Nike Vaporfly 4

Honestly, with every iteration, the Vaporfly and Alphafly seem to be merging into one shoe. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I’ll keep an eye on it.

Adidas Adios Pro 4

Looks like Adidas is taking some tech from the ridiculously priced Pro Evo 1 and integrating it into the more accessible Pro range. What’s interesting is the see-through outsole and a tiny strip of Continental rubber.

Underrated Running Brands

Last week, I put out a call on Instagram for the most underrated running apparel brands right now. I know my following skews Aussie-based, so if you have any overseas brands worth mentioning, feel free to drop them in the comments. I was pleasantly surprised by the interaction, and even someone like me, who researches everything running, found a few cool brands I’d never heard of before. Keep your eyes peeled for some reviews on these coming soon:

Moonshot AC

Carapace Running

Salomon

Unsanctioned Running

Now, I’m not entirely sure Salomon qualifies as underrated, but I’ll give it a pass for road running. Personally, I don’t include it on my list because I always associate it with trail running. That said, good quality kit works for both roads and trails, right? As for the others, they’re a combination of brands I hadn’t heard of or hadn’t been on my radar, but they’re definitely still pretty underground. So, if you’re looking to stand out, these might be worth checking out.

The Cafe

Jakob Ingebritsen : Born to Run

If you’re into running, you already know who Jingy is. The Ingebrigtsen family has a new TV series following Jakob’s journey from injury to the Olympics. From what I’ve heard, it’s well worth a watch, and honestly, you can never have too much track and field content. The only downside? If you’re in Australia like me, it’s currently geoblocked, so you might need to get a VPN to watch it. Personally I am waiting till more expisodes to drop before considering that.

The Gym

Sydney Marathon + Jack Daniels 2Q Review

This will probably be the last time I mention the Sydney Marathon for a while as I try to erase that memory and focus on the next challenge. But first, here’s a review of the training block I used.

The program I followed for this block was Jack Daniels’ 2Q, mainly because of its simplicity. I wanted to get in multiple long runs per week, as I hadn’t focused on long run volume much before.

Here’s a simplified breakdown:

• Midweek Long Run: A slightly faster session, focusing on paces around the threshold range.

• Weekend Long Run: This was the longer of the two and alternated between long, slow runs and marathon-paced workouts.

The rest of the week was dedicated to easy runs to ensure I hit my weekly volume goal. My personal target was between 64-80km per week during the 18-week block.

Three weeks out from race day, I ran a tune-up half marathon, clocking 1:34 and feeling like I still had some gas left in the tank. Based on this, I thought aiming for sub-3:30 was realistic, with the VDOT calculator suggesting a marathon time of around 3:15. Considering the 300m+ of elevation on the Sydney course, I figured 3:30 was still well within reach.

Well, as you can see from my Strava, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I finished in 3:43 after blowing up at the 35km mark. Here’s where things went wrong:

1. The climb up Oxford Street at 16km was the part I was most worried about, but it turned out to be easier than expected. What I wasn’t prepared for was the brutal headwind over the next 10km, where I was expecting some relief.

2. Coming out of Centennial Park, we turned right into a nasty headwind while going uphill. That’s when my legs completely gave out, and I had nothing left for the remaining hills. I staggered to the finish.

Huge shoutout to Ryan Briggs for helping drag me to the finish line at that point—it was looking grim.

Looking back, what would I have done differently? Not much, to be honest. I probably could’ve benefited from more volume, but I didn’t want to risk jumping too quickly based on my previous mileage. The only thing I might have changed would be incorporating more hill training and including more 30km+ long runs, as I only hit that distance once during the block.

The marathon is just a different beast, and nothing really compares to it. I’m not planning on doing another one anytime soon, though. For now, my focus is on getting faster at distances between 5km and half marathon.

If you stuck through that recap, I appreciate it! Next week, we’ll be back to the usual training tips and info. See you then, and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already and to follow Zato AC.